James M. Heron helped to save Charlene M. Kenney from burning, Radnor, Pennsylvania, July 16, 1990. Mrs. Kenney, 38, was pinned in a passenger seat of a small airplane after it crashed near a highway construction site and broke into flame. Heron, 43, carpenter, was one of several construction workers at the site who witnessed the accident and ran to the scene. There, he extended his upper body into the plane through one of the windows on its left side and helped the pilot attempt to free Mrs. Kenney. An explosion occurred in the left wing, which contained fuel tanks and one of the plane’s engines, and knocked him against the plane. Despite increasing flames on the wing, Heron and the pilot persisted in their efforts, freeing Mrs. Kenney. Heron and two co-workers then pulled Mrs. Kenney from the plane and carried her to safety, the pilot following. Flames shortly filled the cockpit. Mrs. Kenney was hospitalized one week for extensive injuries.
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